Trolley head



E.' B. GRACE AND w.1. LAFFEY.

TROLLEY HEAD AFPLICATION FlLED JULYG, 1921.

4 1,41 1,998. Patented Apr. 4,I 1922.

A TTORNE Y.

*i Unire", vs-raras Y, EDWIN n. ennonaim WILLIAM J.

rs N-r oFF-ics.

Lier-Fmr, or aimerais, 'MinimesEn. p

Specification of Letters aten't. Pateted ',Apr.k 4, 192.2.

Application fuedmlyie, ieaim-seijia-i'no; 485,243; y l

To all whom tVmag/fconcem:

.Beit known that we,EDw1N B. GRAoEvand VILLmM J. LAFFEY, citizensfof the United Sta-tes, residing at Memphis, in the 'county' of Shelby 'andState yofl Tennessee, have Yinvented certain new and f useful i Improve-v ments in Trolley 'Heads, of which the Ifollowing is a specification.

-This invention relates ito improvements inV trolleyfheads, Aand more particularly to asaforesaid, to'eifect the steering offthevehicle `on which the same ismo'unted.

Another object of the invention is toy pro` vide for a. trolley head as characterized, and onel'adapted forl usel on electrically propelled freight handling trucks of the-type as set forth in ourV copending application filed Julyl 16, 1921, andvv Serial Number 485,- 242.; and for the carrying out of the objects and purposes of the freight and baggage handling system as disclosed in our copending application led July 16, 1921, and

i Serial Number 485,244,

With the foregoing and other objects in' view,V the invention resides in the certain novel andv useful construction and arrange- Y ment of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described, set forth in the appended claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in whichz- Y y Figure 1 is a side elevation of the trolley head and the mountings therefor,

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same, and,

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 3-3 o f Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 10 designates the trolley headl as a whole, and the trolley head per se, designated generally as at 11, has itsstub shaft` 12 journaled in and extending between a'pair of spaced arms 13, which are secured in such spaced relation by means of a bar 14, and have their inner ends mounted for swinging-'or pivotalinovement on a shaft 15, carriedfin bracketsl theinne'rend of one of said arms 13'b`ein 7 provided with lan offset arrn'portion 17,10 r' the free end of which is 'pivotally connected an operating or reach rod 18, whichleads to ai manually yoperated device or mechanismV V(not shownfwhereby thetrolley, head may i, be raised"and'loweredA fromland'to operative engagement with the' conchictorsY a, b .and "c, of a multi-channel:raild. 'i l The trolleyf'hea'd-per se comprises three contact ywheels 119,' 20'. and 21, suitably. keyed or splined on thest fubshaftl 12,-the5center' of the-wheels 20 consisting ofl a metal;l hub 22" securedmedially' of the opposite ends of the shaft 12,and isfo'rined to have its'periplieral screws or the'lik'e '25. GlanipedV 'within the channel 23 between -ithe integral and r'er'nov-L i edge ipfr'ovivdedfwith" an raninil'ar"'channel 23, Y havinga removable'side wall 24, which 'isf'ji normally secured; inposit'ion by'f'ineans of 75 'i ablev side walls' thereof, are: a pair off'oppoy l sitely disposed a-nnularfringsf26 and27, of an insulating material 'sueltas fiber or the Y. f

like, andan annular ring 28, ofthe `same material',V interposed' between"v rings" 26Y l and 2T., the-ring 28: being of a less diameterj p thanJ the lattertof provide arrannular"chan#V nel for the reception ofan annular contact A orcollector ring 29,of metal, 'preferablyV Y copper, the facial surface ofthe latterbeing disposed flush in the planeY ofthe vfacial i i surfaces of said Vinsulating rings 26 .and 27 i and' is grooved medially of its oppositeY side i of the troledges to conform tothe surfaces ley wire .towbe contacted thereby. Y j

The trolley wheels 19 and 21 are each 'of identical construction, and 'are disposedl on the shaft 12 to either side of the center wheel 20, these wheels 19 and 21 each consists of flanged hubs 30,31, of substantially bushing form, the integrally flanged ends thereof be- 1 ing arranged iny abutting relation to` sleeve like extensions`32 of the hub 22, ofthe trolf` A j f ley kwheel 20. Fitted on the hubs V30, 31' are pairs of annular rings 33, 34," respectively, the two members of `each pair of ,theV same beingfspaced apartby `means of'centrally disposed annular rings 35,36, the latter, being of a less diameter than the pairs of rings 33, 34, whereby to provide Ygrooves for the receptionV of annulargcontact or collector rings 37, 38, similar to the contact or collector rings 29 of the trolley wheel 20. The sets of rings 33, 35 and 34, 36, are all of an insulating material, such as tiber or the like, and are clamped in position on the hubs 30 and 3l, by means of collars or washers 39 and 40, and retaining nuts 4l and 4Q, re-

' spectively.

ln the use of the trolley headrthus provided, either of a Ythree wire direct current or a three phase alternating current supply will be provided, and the same is preferably of the form of a multi-channel rail as shown Vat cl in Fig. 2,' wherein the three conductors a, b and c of the supply system are each supported within a channel of the rail, and

Y insulated fromy the walls thereof, and the trolley head 1l will beraised and lowered from and toward the rails so as to withdraw or insert the/trolley wheels 19, 2O and 2l from and into the channels thereof, the centervwheel 2O engaging the central channel of .Y 4the rail, which has'its opposite side walls 0f aheavier or thicker formationthan the rest ofthe rail, whereby the heavy hub construction of the wheel 20 will act as a guide for the trolley head, and aid in the steering of the vehicle to which it may be attached. As

' shown'in Fig. 2, suitablebrushes 43, 44 and are arrangedto contactthe collector rings 37, 29V andn38, of the trolley wheels 19, 20

,and 21, respectively, and current will be led from the. same by the leads 46, 47 and 48 to the propelling'motor of the vehicle.

' It is well understood that, while the device asa whole, andthe assembly thereof, has been described herein 1n specific terms of arrangement and construction, various changes in and modifications of the same,

may beresorted to without departing from they spirit. of the invention, or the scope4 of the, claims appended hereto.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed, is

l. A trolley head for three conductor sys tems of current distribution comprisinga' stub shaft, and individual rconductor contact wheels carried on said shaft one for4 each conductor of the system. y

' A trolley head for three phaseV alternating current distribution systems com prising a stub shaft, and contact wheels arranged in spaced relation on said shaft one i for each phase conductor of the system.

A trolley head of the class described comprising a stubshaft, and contact wheels kcarried on said stub shaft, oneof said contact `wheels being of a relatively heavy con- 5. A trolley, headof the class described Y comprising a stub shaft, trolley ,Wheelson' said shaft, an annular peripheralcontact carried by each of the said Wheels Vand insulated therefrom.

I6. AV trolley head of the classdescribed/ comprising a stub shaft, trolley Wheelscar- I ried on said sh'aftthe intermediate of said wheels being of a relatively heavy construc;

tion withA respect to the otherk of said wheels, an annular contact ringcarried in the i periphery of each of said wheels,and insulated therefrom.

In testimony. whereof, We affix our signa- -EDWIN B GRACE. A

tures hereto.

' WILLIAM J. Lawler 

